September 2/13 9:37 am - Canada Finishes Para Worlds with 8 Medals

Posted by Editoress on 09/2/13

Canada added two medals to its tally as the 2013 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Championships came to an end on Sunday in Baie-Comeau, Quebec.

With the two medals won by the Canadian para-cyclist in the final day of competition of the season, Canada ended the 2013 World Championships with eight medals: two gold, four silver and two bronze. Jaye Milley (C1), Marie-Claude Molnar (C4), Shelley Gautier (T2) and Marie-Ève Croteau (T2) all won medals in the time trial and road races.

On Sunday, Calgary's Jaye Milley took the bronze medal in the men’s C1 race, finishing his season with flat tire with two kilometres left in the road race. At the moment of the unfortunate flat tire, Milley was well positioned to take the rainbow jersey, but settled for the third place, his second bronze medal of these World Championships.

In the last three kilometres of the race, MIlley was among the leaders, and had plenty of energy left for the finish. Significantly slowed down by the flat tire and its repair, Milley finished 1:56 behind the winning time of 1:31:12 set by Arnoud Nijhuis of the Netherlands.

"It is a bittersweet victory because I had a rear flat in the last two kilometres. I was positioned perfectly for the sprint and feeling absolutely amazing! I definitely had a chance at being the World Champion," commented Milley. "The reality is as an athlete you try and control everything but the fact is there are things that are just simply out of your control, like my flat today. Just having the chance and knowing I could have made it happen is what is important!"

Brayden McDougall, also of Calgary, finished in 11th place of that same C1 race.

In the women C4 race, Marie-Claude Molnar of Sainte-Adele, Quebec, rode to second place, finishing the race with the silver medal after 1:40:11 of racing - less than one minute behind the time set by Megan Fisher of the United States.

Molnar, who is a regular on the podium at World Cups and World Championships alike, was pleased with the race: "The season officially ended with the presentation of this road race at World Championships in Baie-Comeau. The objective was clear for me today: hang on to the wheels of the C5 women, something I was able to do until the fourth lap. I then realized that the German and Polish girls had more power than me. I come to the finish in second place, with the feeling of accomplishment."

Nicole Clermont of Sherbrooke, Quebec, participating in her first World Championships and racing internationally for less than three weeks, had yet another great race, taking fourth place in the C5 race. Clermont came very close to the taking the bronze medal, and was involved in the final sprint against Greta Neimanas of the United States. The two women took 1:39:11 to complete the course, crossing the line just 24 seconds after the race winner.

In the Men's tandem race, Canada once again were contenders for medals at the start line. The medal winning tandem of Daniel Chalifour and pilot Alexandre Cloutier was assigned today to work for the second Canadian tandem, Alexandre Carrier and his new pilot Aroussen Laflame, jumping in a breakaway. The hope was to allow Carrier and Laflamme fresh sprint legs that would have been needed in the final sprint. But once again, bad luck struck the Canadian tandem, and the team suffered from a flat tire in the last two kilometres of the race, taking them out of contention for a podium. Carrier/Laflamme ended in 12th place after coming back from their flat, while the Chalifour/Cloutier tandem pulled out of the race after the break was caught.

Sebastien Bouchard finished 17th of the men's C3 race, while Arnold Boldt did not finish his C2 race.

The event ended with the Handcycling Team Relay race, where Canada took fifth place.